Feelings
by Yellowwolf
Summary: What if the one person you want is the one person you can never be with? Hunter/Dustin.


**Disclaimer: **Do I have to say it?

**Author's note:** I got the plotbunny for this story from a conversation with Liz (Whiserping Ranger). This story is dedicated to her. I would also like to state that I still have not gotten any better at picking titles. –groans–

_**Feelings**_

What if the one person you want is the one person you can never be with? Hunter had asked himself that particular question about a million of times before. The answer he came up with every time was that he needed to get over Dustin, needed to forget him and move on. Which was easier said than done. It didn't help that he was around Dustin on pretty much a daily basis and when he didn't see him for a day, his chest would tighten unpleasantly and he'd go into a complete brooding mood. Dustin's smile got him out of it every time.

He leaned his elbows on the counter and stared out as rain poured down heavily outside, hitting the windows of an unusually quiet Storm Chargers. Kelly was out for lunch, Dustin was picking up supplies and Blake had the day off. There weren't even any customers. It was kind of boring. He had nothing to do, nothing at all. At least not until Dustin returned with the supplies because then they would have to make an inventory of the stuff they got and put it where it belonged. Normally, the supplies got delivered but something had gone wrong so Kelly had sent Dustin to pick them up.

Hunter was thankful for the alone time, it gave his heart a chance to beat normally for a while. Whenever he was around the yellow ranger, his heart just started beating faster. It was a common side effect of being in love. He was too in love for his own good. In a way, he liked the feeling, liked how it brightened his day. In another way, he hated the feeling. It was the one thing that could bring him down like nothing else could. The thought that Dustin would never be his always did a good job at bringing him down.

Sometimes, there was something in Dustin's smile that made Hunter believe that maybe, just maybe Dustin returned his feelings. He knew the way Dustin smiled, had noticed there were several. The smile he sent him was always different than the one he would send any of the others. It was hard to explain but it was. He didn't think it meant anything though, he was sure it was just his brain coming up with things, just giving him something to hold on to until his heart got over the brunette.

He had it pretty bad for Dustin. Even his childish behavior was cute, even his airhead moments made Hunter's heart swell with something between affection and love. Dustin, look-wise, was the perfect guy for him too. He had floppy brown hair with strands that occasionally fell in his eyes. It just made him want to reach out and brush it back. His eyes were a dark, almost chocolate brown with hints of green. They were always warm, always caring. He had perfect lips. When Dustin talked, his eyes were inevitably drawn to his lips, it always made him want to close the distance between him and kiss him. He had managed to hold back so far.

He looked up when the door opened to find the object of his thoughts walking –running– in.

"I am not unloading any of the stuff until the rain stops, dude." Dustin remarked, shaking his head and sending water flying everywhere.

"Don't think the cardboard boxes would survive," Hunter agreed with a smile while he blindly reached for a clean towel behind the counter. There were always towels behind the counter. He tossed it to his friend who gratefully accepted it and ran it over his face. The rain had made Dustin's t-shirt cling to his chest on places, showing off muscles. Hunter had noticed a serious increase in Dustin's muscle-mass lately, he was definitely more muscled. Thoughts of running his hands up and down Dustin's chest more often than not plagued his fantasies, both day-time and night-time ones.

"They probably wouldn't," Dustin agreed and then looked down at his wet clothes with a grimace. "Good thing I always think to bring extra clothes."

Hunter raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, you always think to bring extra clothes and I just steal yours. Details, dude." Dustin said with a wave of his hand before he went into the back to grab one of Hunter's shirts. Hunter had long since learned to bring two.

Dustin appeared seconds later with one of his too big crimson shirts. "Crimson is not my color," Dustin said with a pout.

Hunter had to disagree. It definitely looked good on him. He would too. "If you want to wear yellow, remember to bring your own shirts."

"Yeah, yeah," Dustin said with a slight glare while he stood next to him, back resting against the counter so they were facing each other.

Hunter smiled sweetly and tried not to notice how a drop of rain ran down over Dustin's face from his hair. He was not looking as it ran over his cheek and to his lips. He was not watching as Dustin's tongue slipped out to lick it up. Definitely not looking. A faint blush colored his cheeks.

"When's Kel coming back?"

Hunter shrugged. "She said she was taking an hour but it might be longer. She's put in more hours this week anyway so she can take longer if she wants."

"Yeah." Dustin said with a sheepish look. "Her covering up for us always makes me feel kinda bad."

"Yeah, same here. But it's not as if we have a choice, we have to save the world."

"From an evil space alien with world domination plans and ridiculous monsters to try and accomplish it with," Dustin snorted. Even that was cute.

"Does sound stupid," Hunter agreed.

"Very much so," Dustin replied dryly.

For a minute they just stared at each other and Hunter had to once again resist the strong urge to lean forward and capture Dustin's perfectly shaped lips with his own. Luckily Dustin broke eye contact.

"So, what did you do while I was out?" Dustin asked with a wicked grin.

"The usual, stealing money from the counter, leaving the store unguarded. You know."

Dustin laughed. It was the most beautiful sound Hunter had ever heard and it just made him smile. He loved how Dustin's eyes twinkled as he laughed and how his whole body just kind of shook. It was at times like these that he liked to be in love because he felt really good, felt like he was on cloud nine. He felt happy even if he knew that he couldn't have Dustin, simply because he knew that they were friends. While that sometimes hurt, it was also good. Dustin was a part of his life, maybe not in the way that he wanted him to be but he was. It would hurt a hell of a lot more if he couldn't see him anymore.

All he could do was just hope that one day the feelings would go away, or that Dustin would return them which was highly unlikely. Dustin was straight, that much he knew for a fact.

Dustin was still smiling at him, that one smile that he seemed to have reserved just for him. Hunter smiled back, just getting lost in the feeling of warmth that surrounded them both. The moment was broken when Kelly entered, muttering about the weather. It was moments like the ones they had shared that gave him hope, maybe it was vain, maybe not. Only time could tell.

**The end**_Author's note: -headdesk- This was not how it was supposed to go but I just started writing and this came out. Ah well, I like it! Let me know if you like it too!_


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